3 Splits and Quarrels in the Church (1:10-17)
Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, that no man should say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void. (1:10-17)
One of the main reasons that cults in our day have had such an impact on the world is their unity. Disharmony is not tolerated. Though misguided, misused, and often totalitarian, such unity is attractive to many people who are tired of religious uncertainty, ambiguity, and confusion.
Few of us who have attended church for a number of years have not been in or known of a congregation where there was a split or at least serious quarreling. The problem has existed in the church from New Testament times. The Corinthian believers fell short of the Lord’s standards in many ways, and the first thing for which Paul called them to task was quarreling.
Quarrels are a part of life. We grow up in them and around them. Infants are quick to express displeasure when they are not given something they want or when something they like is taken away. Little children cry, fight, and throw tantrums because they cannot have their own ways. We argue and fight over a rattle, then a toy, then a football, then a position on the football team or in the cheerleading squad, then in business, the PTA, or politics. Friends fight, husbands and wives fight, businesses fight, cities fight, even nations fight—sometimes to the point of war. And the source of all the fighting is the same: man’s depraved, egoistic, selfish nature.
Scripture teaches nothing more clearly than the truth that man is basically and naturally sinful, and that the heart of his sinfulness is self-will. From birth to death the natural inclination of every person is to look out for “number one”—to be, to do, and to have what he wants. Even believers are continually tempted to fall back into lives of self-will, self-interest, and general self-centeredness. At the heart of sin is the ego, the “I.” Self-centeredness is the root of man’s depravity, the depravity into which every person since Adam and Eve, except Jesus Christ, has been born. Even Christians are still sinners—justified, but still sinful in themselves. And when that sin is allowed to have its way in our flesh, conflict is inevitable. When two or more people are bent on having their own ways, they will soon be quarreling and arguing, because their interests, concerns, and priorities sooner or later will conflict. There cannot possibly be harmony in a group, even a group of believers, whose desires, goals, purposes, and ideals are generated by their egos.
Writing to fellow Christians, James asks, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel” (James 4:1-2). The cause for all conflicts, quarrels, and fighting is selfish desire.
Tragically’—though it is forbidden by God, is totally out of character with our redeemed natures, and is in complete opposition to everything our Lord prayed for and intended for His church—fighting does occur among believers, among those who are called to be one in the Lord Jesus Christ.
What the Lord laments and opposes, Satan applauds and fosters. Few things demoralize, discourage, and weaken a church as much as bickering, backbiting, and fighting among its members. And few things so effectively undermine its testimony before the world.
Quarreling is a reality in the church because selfishness and other sins are realities in the church. Because of quarreling the Father is dishonored, the Son is disgraced, His people are demoralized and discredited, and the world is turned off and confirmed in unbelief. Fractured fellowship robs Christians of joy and effectiveness, robs God of glory, and robs the world of the true testimony of the gospel. A high price for an ego trip!
Among the Corinthian church’s many sins and shortcomings, quarreling is the one that Paul chose to deal with first. In unity lies the joy of Christian ministry and the credibility of Christian testimony. In His high priestly prayer the Lord prayed repeatedly that His church would be one (John 17:11, 21-23). The implication of the oneness of nature and communion with God for which He prayed for His disciples was a “fleshed out” oneness in life. Immediately after Pentecost the newly empowered believers were in perfect harmony with each other—sharing, rejoicing, worshiping, and witnessing together, “day by day continuing with one mind in the temple … praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:46-47). Their unity bore great fruit in their ministry to each other, in their witness to the world, and in their pleasing and glorifying God.
The first need of the Corinthian church was for that sort of harmony. It is also the need of many churches today. With this discussion, Paul moves into the exhortation and instruction that occupies the rest of the epistle.
In verses 10-17 he deals with four basic areas that relate to unity: the plea for doctrinal agreement, the parties that were loyal to men, the principle of oneness in Christ, and the priority of preaching.
THE PLEA: DOCTRINAL AGREEMENT
Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. (1:10)
Exhort comes from the Greek parakaleō, the verb root of parakletos, the “Helper” (or Comforter) of John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7 and the “Advocate” of 1 John 2:1. The basic meaning is that of coming alongside someone in order to help. Paul wanted to come alongside his Corinthian brothers and sisters in order to help correct their sins and shortcomings. He used the same word in writing Philemon. After noting that he had the right to order Philemon to forgive the slave Onesimus and send him back to Paul, the apostle says, “Yet for love’s sake I appeal [parakaleō] to you” (Philem. 9; cf. 10).
Likewise he appealed to the Corinthians. He had been careful to establish his apostolic authority in the opening words of the letter. But now he appeals to them as brothers. In so doing he moderates the harshness, without minimizing the seriousness, of the rebuke. They are his brothers and each other’s brothers, and should act in harmony as brothers.
They had all been “called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ” (1:9) and are now being lovingly exhorted by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to agree, to eliminate divisions, and to be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. Because they were one in fellowship with their Lord, they should be one in fellowship with each other. Their unity in Jesus Christ was the basis for Paul’s appeal for unity among themselves. As in many of Paul’s letters, believers’ identity with Christ is the pad from which he launches his call to holy living.
Christ’s name represents all that He is, His character and His will. To pray “in Jesus’ name” is not to expect God to bow to our wishes or demands simply because we use that phrase. To pray in His name is to pray in accordance with His Word and His will. Jesus said to pray, saying, “Hallowed be Thy name…. Thy will be done” (Matt. 6:9-10). Christ’s Word, which perfectly reflects His character and His will, forms the supreme basis for all Christian behavior. What we think, say, and do is right or wrong not primarily because of its effect on us or on others but because it does or does not conform to Christ and bring honor to Him. Our behavior as believers has its most direct relationship to Jesus Christ. When we sin or complain or quarrel, we harm the church and its leaders and our fellow believers. We also put a barrier between unbelievers and the gospel. But worst of all, we bring dishonor to our Lord.
When the Ephesian elders came to Miletus to meet Paul on his way to Jerusalem, he admonished them to “be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). He was saying to them, “Don’t lose sight of Whose you are and Whose they are. You all belong to Jesus Christ and are precious to Him. You are overseers on the Lord’s behalf.”
The emphasis in this passage, written to a local church, is on the unity of the local assembly of believers, not on the mystical unity of the universal church—as is the emphasis, for example, in Ephesians, which was a general letter without local reference. Nor is Paul talking about denominational unity. He is saying that there should be unity within the local congregation, that you should all agree.
That seems to be an impossible standard. Yet the Lord Himself commanded His followers to “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48), and what could be more humanly impossible than that? In the name and power of Christ that standard is possible. So is this one. God does not give His standards on the basis of human ability but on the basis of divine provision. He does not accommodate them to human limitations, much less to human inclinations and desires. No matter how impossible the idea may seem, all believers in a local church are to be in agreement about the things of God.
In the Greek, that you all agree is literally, “that you all speak the same thing,” as in the King James Version. Nothing is more confusing to new Christians, or to unbelievers who are considering the claims of Christ, than to hear supposedly mature and informed Christians tell conflicting things about the gospel, the Bible, or Christian living. And few things are more devastating to a church than everyone having his own ideas and interpretations about the faith, or of the congregation being divided into various factions, each with its own views.
For a local church to be spiritually healthy, harmonious, and effective, there must, above all, be doctrinal unity. The teaching of the church should not be a smorgasbord from which members can pick and choose. Nor should there be various groups, each with its own distinctives and leaders. Even if the groups get along with each other and tolerate each other’s views, doctrinal confusion and spiritual weakness are inevitable. Unfortunately some churches today, and even some seminaries, have just that sort of doctrinal and ethical selectivity. They often have unity on a social and organizational level—but doctrinally, ethically, and spiritually they are confused and confusing. They hold to no certainties, including the certainties and absolutes of Scripture. They have no lasting or binding commitments. One does not make permanent commitments to temporary beliefs. Many people, of course, including some professing Christians, do not want absolutes in doctrine or ethics, simply because absolute truths and standards demand absolute acceptance and obedience.
As far as God’s truth is concerned, there cannot be two conflicting views that are right. Obviously, we cannot know dogmatically what is not fully or clearly revealed (Deut. 29:29). But God is not confused or self-contradictory. He does not disagree with Himself, and His Word does not disagree with itself. Consequently Paul insists that the Corinthians, and all believers, have doctrinal unity—not just any doctrinal unity, but unity that is clearly and completely based on God’s Word. He appeals to them in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is, there must be agreement in Him, in His will, in His Word.
Many of the factions in the Corinthian church, as in some parts of the church today, had unity within their own groups but not unity with other believers in Jesus Christ. Paul’s call for agreement was not agreement on just any basis but agreement in God’s revealed truth, given by and consummated in Jesus Christ and completed through the teaching of His apostles. “Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained” (Phil. 3:15-16). The standard was the apostolic doctrine which Paul personally had related to them and exemplified among them (v. 17), just as the teaching he had given the Corinthians was as “an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” and “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Cor. 1:1; 2:4).
The word divisions translates the Greek schismata, from which we get schism. In the physical sense the meaning is “to tear or rip,” that is, to separate, as in Matthew 9:16 (“tear”). Metaphorically it means to have a difference of opinion, a division of judgment, a dissension. Once when Jesus was preaching in Jerusalem the people listening to Him could not agree on who He was. Some thought He was the great prophet, some that He was the Christ, and some that He was just an ordinary man making extraordinary claims. Consequently, John reports, “There arose a division [schisma] in the multitude because of Him” (John 7:43). Still today there are divisions because of disagreements as to who Christ is, even among those who go by His name.
The most serious divisions a church can have are those involving doctrine. In closing his letter to the Romans Paul warned, “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them” (Rom. 16:17). Those who teach anything contrary to Scripture are not serving Christ but themselves and their own interests. In matters on which Scripture is not explicit there is room for difference of opinion. But in the clear teachings of the Bible there is no room for difference, because to differ with Scripture is to differ with God. On those things a church must agree.
I believe there are even some things, though not specifically taught in Scripture, about which the church should be of one mind when the elders and pastors have come to agreement on it. Otherwise there will be confusion in the local church and often division and factions. Members will tend to line up with the teachers and leaders with whom they agree, and they will soon become like the Corinthians, who were of Paul, Apollos, Peter, or Christ (1 Cor. 1:12). There was no doctrinal disagreement among those teachers; the division was one of personality or style preference on the part of the Corinthians—a popularity contest. Because Paul ranked them with the other factions, we know that even those claiming to be loyal only to Christ were really loyal only to their own opinions.
I also believe there must be agreement in the decision-making process of the local church leadership and that their decisions should be accepted and followed by other church members, especially by those, such as teachers, who are in positions of responsibility and influence. These decisions do not, of course, have the same authority as Scripture. But if they are consistent with what Scripture teaches and are sought in prayer, they should be followed by everyone in the church for the sake of harmony and unity. A good word for those who seek unity in the leadership of the church’s life and practice is found in Philippians 1:27, where Paul exhorts believers to stand “firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”
Obviously the key to unity in doctrine and decisions is having godly leaders who are united themselves in the will of the Spirit. Men who are not close to the Lord and well-taught in His Word cannot possibly recognize or agree on sound doctrine or make sound decisions. Without knowing God’s Word they cannot perceive error, even when they want to. The only sure way to identify a counterfeit bill is to compare it with one known to be genuine. Only Scripture-taught, Spirit-led men are able to guide a church into the unity of truth and protect it from error. If a church does not have that kind of men, no form of leadership will work spiritually. Such men are God’s men and they represent Jesus Christ. Christ rules the church through them, and their decisions should be agreed with and followed. Such men are able to lead the church in the unity of faith and practice which the New Testament consistently demands (cf. Heb. 13:7). They are able to guide a congregation in being complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. But if they are not united, the people will not be either.
Made complete is the Greek katartizō, used in classical Greek as well as in the New Testament to speak of mending such things as nets, bones, dislocated joints, broken utensils, and torn garments. The basic meaning is to put back together, to make one again something that was broken or separated. Christians are to be made complete (“perfectly joined together,” KJV), both internally (in the same mind) and externally (in the same judgment). In our individual minds and among ourselves we are to be one in beliefs, standards, attitudes, and principles of spiritual living.
The epistles have nothing to say about the role of the congregation in church government, but a great deal to say about the role of its leadership. “We request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thess. 5:12-13). Only when its leadership is right can a congregation be right. They will never be perfect or infallible, but godly men are Christ’s instruments for leading and shepherding His people. They have the right to lead the congregation and to make decisions for them in the Lord, and they are to be respected, loved, and followed in the Lord. “Obey your leaders,” we read in Hebrews, “and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you” (13:17).
God’s people are to follow, not quibble with and question, godly leaders who are one in mind as to God’s Word and will. In God’s order a congregation is to be under the rule of its leaders just as children are to be under the rule of their parents. That is God’s way.
Being of the same mind and… the same judgment rules out grudging or hypocritical unity. Unity must be genuine. We are not simply to speak the same thing, while keeping our disagreements and objections to ourselves, making a pretense of unity. Unity that is not of the same mind and judgment is not true unity. Hypocrites will add to a congregation’s size but they will take away from its effectiveness. A member who strongly disagrees with his church leadership and policy, not to mention doctrine, cannot be happy or productive in His own Christian life or be of any positive service to the congregation.
It is not that believers are to be carbon copies of each other. God has made us individual and unique. But we are to be of the same opinion in regard to Christian doctrine, standards, and basic life-style. The apostles themselves were different from one another in personality, temperament, ability, and gifts; but they were of one mind in doctrine and church policy. When differences of understanding and interpretation arose, the first order of business was to reconcile those differences. Ego had no place, only the will of God.
When, for example, the Judaizing controversy became serious in Antioch, “the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue” (Acts 15:2). At what has come to be called the Jerusalem Council the issue was discussed, prayed about, and settled; and the decision was put in letter form to be circulated among the churches involved (vv. 6-30). It was not an arbitrary ruling made by a group of influential and persuasive men. It was a decision made by godly apostles and elders in accordance with God’s revealed will and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Those leaders were able to say of their decision, “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (v. 28). We can be sure that many of the Judaizers were not convinced or pleased, for the problem continued to plague the early church for many years. But for faithful believers the issue was settled and “they rejoiced because of its encouragement” (v. 31). That is why the qualifications for elders are spiritual (1 Tim. 3: Iff.; Titus 1: 5ff.).
Pastoral elders should make decisions on the basis of unanimous agreement. Not even a three-fourths vote should carry a motion. No decision should be made without total one-mindedness, no matter how long that takes. Because the Holy Spirit has but one will, and because a church must be in complete harmony with His will, the leaders must be in complete harmony with each other in that will. The congregation then is to submit to the elders because it has confidence that the elders’ decisions are made under the Spirit’s direction and power. Because they believe the elders are one in the Spirit, the congregation is then determined to be one with the elders. There may be struggle in coming to this kind of unity, as there was in Corinth—but it is here mandated by the Spirit Himself through Paul.
Unity has always been God’s way for His people and a source of blessing to them. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity” (Ps. 133:1). At the end of the great discourse on Christian liberty in his letter to the Romans, Paul prayed, “Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God” (15:5-7). Since Christ is of one mind about us we should be of one mind with and about each other. Luke reports that shortly after Pentecost “the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32). Paul encouraged the Philippians to make his “joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (2:2). Among God’s wonderful gifts to His people are oneness in mind, love, accord, voice, purpose, and spirit.
The purpose of unity first of all is to glorify God. Unity will always bless a congregation and be a joy to its leaders (Heb. 13:17), but its primary aim is God’s glory. Just as Christ accepted us to the glory of God, we accept each other and the rule of our leaders to His glory. We should always, therefore, be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3).
The source of unity is the Lord Himself. We are called to preserve it and we are able to destroy it, but we are not able to create it. The unity of the church is already established by the Holy Spirit. We can only keep it or harm it. It is kept by doing “nothing from selfishness or empty conceit,” but with humility counting others better than ourselves (Phil. 2:3). If an issue arises that we feel needs attention, we should carefully and lovingly present our views to those involved or to those in authority, but without pride or contention. Vanity and self-will are almost always the causes of divisions and factions in a congregation—and in every other group. We keep unity by not insisting on our own way, by avoiding squabbles and bickering, and by putting the interests of our Lord and of His people above all else.
THE PARTIES: LOYALTY TO MEN
For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.”(1:11-12)
Paul had ministered in Corinth for a year and a half. He then sent Apollos to be the second pastor. Apparently a group of Jews in the church had been saved under Peter’s (Cephas’s) ministry. Parties soon developed in the names of each of those men. Paul learned of the factions through Chloe, probably a prominent person in the Corinthian church who had written or come to visit Paul in Ephesus. The first two groups each had their favorite former pastor, the third had a strong loyalty to Peter, and the fourth, probably the most pious and self-righteous, seemed to think they had a special claim on Christ. They had the right name but it is clear from Paul’s accusation that they did not have the right spirit. Perhaps like some “Christ only” groups today they felt they had no need for human instructors—despite the Lord’s specific provision for and appointment of human preachers, teachers, and other leaders in His church (1 Cor. 1:1; 12:28; Eph. 4:11; 2 Tim. 1:11; etc.).
Each group was vocal in its opinions and had its own shibboleth, its own slogan of identity and implied superiority. “I am of Paul,” “I of Apollos,” “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” These were the great teachers of the early years, around whom people gathered and through whom they were given the saving message. People clung to the man who had evangelized and taught them, and then pitted their group against the groups loyal to the other leaders. Often, as with the Corinthian church, leaders about whom such factions center are not responsible for the division. Many times they are not even aware of it. When, however, leaders do know of and even encourage groups that have a special loyalty to them, those leaders are doubly guilty. They not only participate in factionalism but allow it to center on themselves.
The inevitable result of such party spirit is contention, quarrels, wrangling, and disputes—a divided church. It is natural to have special affection for the person who led us to Christ, for a pastor who has fed us from the Word for many years, for a capable Sunday school teacher, or for an elder or deacon who has counseled and consoled us. But such affection becomes misguided and carnal when it is allowed to segregate us from others in the church or to decrease our loyalty to the other leaders. It then becomes a self-centered, self-willed exclusiveness that is the antithesis of unity.
Spirituality produces humility and unity; carnality produces pride and division. The only cure for quarreling and division is renewed spirituality. In my experience the most effective means of correcting a contentious, factious person is to share with him selected Scripture passages on carnality and its evidences, to confront him directly with the cause of his sin.
THE PRINCIPLE: ONENESS IN CHRIST
Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1:13)
The central principle of Paul’s argument is that believers are one in Christ and should never do anything that disrupts or destroys that unity. No human leader, no matter how gifted and effective, should have the loyalty that belongs only to the Lord. Paul began his letter by establishing his authority as an apostle. But he wanted no part of the faction named for him. He had never been crucified for anyone. No one was ever baptized in his name. His authority had been delegated to him and was not his own, and his purpose was to bring men to Christ, not to himself.
A Christian church that is divided is a contradiction. “One who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Cor. 6:17). “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (12:12-13). “We, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Rom. 12:5). “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:4-6). To be divided in Christ’s Body is a violation of our redeemed nature and is in direct opposition to our Lord’s will. In His longest recorded prayer, Jesus interceded for those who were His and who would be His. Included was His beautiful appeal for their unity, “that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me. And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one” (John 17:21-22).
When the Lord’s people quarrel and dispute and fight, they reflect against the Lord before the world, they weaken His church, and worst of all they grieve and put to shame the One who bought them—who died to make them one in Him. The Father is one, the Son is one, the Spirit is one, and the church is one.
THE PRIORITY: PREACHING THE GOSPEL
I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, that no man should say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void. (1:14-17)
Crispus was the leader of the synagogue in Corinth when Paul first ministered there and was converted under the apostle’s preaching. His conversion led to that of many others in the city (Acts 18:8). Since the letter to the Romans was written from Corinth, this Gaius was probably the Corinthian “host” to whom Paul refers in Romans 16:23. The apostle was grateful that he had personally baptized only those two and a few others.
Jesus did not baptize anyone personally (John 4:2). To have been baptized by the Lord Himself would have brought almost irresistible temptation to pride and would have tended to set such people apart, whether they wanted to be or not. As an apostle, Paul faced a similar danger. But he also had another: the danger of creating his own cult; and so he declared, I thank God … that no man should say you were baptized in my name.
As already mentioned, it is not wrong to have special affection for certain persons, such as the one who baptized us, especially if we were converted under his ministry. But it is quite wrong to take special pride in that fact or pride in any close relationship to a Christian leader. Paul was not flattered that a group in Corinth was claiming special allegiance to him. He was distraught and ashamed at the idea, as he had already said: “Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1:13). “How could you even think of showing a loyalty to me,” he was saying, “that belongs only to the Lord Jesus Christ?” He wanted no cult built around himself or around any other church leader.
Paul was not certain of the exact number he had baptized in Corinth. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. This comment gives an interesting insight into the inspiration of Scripture. As an apostle writing the Word of God, Paul made no errors; but he was not omniscient. God protected His apostles from error in order to protect His Word from error. But Paul did not know everything about God or even about himself, and was careful never to make such a claim. He knew what God revealed—things he had no way of knowing on his own. What he could know on his own, he was prone to forget. He was one of us.
Another reason for Paul’s baptizing so few converts was that his primary calling lay elsewhere. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void. He was not sent to start a cult of people baptized by him. Jesus had personally commissioned him: “For this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom 1 am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:16-18). His calling was to preach the gospel and bring men to oneness in Christ, not in baptizing to create a faction around himself.
As we each have the right priority in our lives, we too will be determined to serve the Lord in truth and in unity, not living in the carnality and confusion of dissension and division.